IVERSON UPDATE

In his first official game, Allen Iverson played 24 minutes, scored 15 points and had a host of assists for Beşiktaş. To say that his second game did not go as well is an understatement.

Allen Iverson scored two points in his second game — his Turkish league debut for Besiktas Cola Turka — in a 74-67 loss to defending champion Fenerbahce Ulker on Sunday.

Iverson was again in the starting lineup for Beşiktaş, but went 0-3 shooting in the first quarter and was taken out of the game with less than a minute left in the stanza. That was the last action Iverson would see in the first half. Besiktas trailed 40-35 at half time

AI returned at the beginning of the second half, but again had a slow start. He did not score his first basket until late in the third. Iverson was then pulled from the game and sat on the bench for the rest of the night.

Besiktas handed out paper masks with a picture of Iverson to the fans before the game but according to reports, the enthusiasm among the Black Eagles faithful for the team’s new player faded during the match

Beşiktaş rallied to tie the score 53-all going into the fourth quarter, but Fenerbahce held off the Black Eagles (74-67) to maintain its perfect league record.

It was Besiktas’ second loss in a week after a 94-91 defeat to Hemofarm Stada in the European Cup on Tuesday, when Iverson debuted with the team.

In case you missed it, Kate Fagan who is currently in Istanbul, wrote a very strong piece on Iverson’s adventure in Turkey. According to Fagan, “Iverson is not a sensation here, but rather an exciting curiosity for small pockets of basketball fans…”

Another interesting note is that according to Fagan, Iverson is not talking to the media, except HBO. One would have to assume that HBO Sports has some “exclusive” deal up their sleeve with Iverson.